NEW YORK, NY, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- EZ Newswire, the newswire built for AI visibility and premium publisher distribution, today announced the launch of Performance Reports, a white-labeled PDF that shows in plain language what a press release accomplished, from where it ran and who read it to how it ranked in search and how it shaped the brand's presence in AI answers.

Each report covers the publishers that carried a release, verified readership and engagement, search rankings across Google, Bing, and Yahoo, and how often AI answer engines including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity cited the release, with verbatim examples of those answers. A dedicated "what it means" section then translates the results into plain-English takeaways, so customers don't need an analyst to know whether their news did its job. Reports are available now at no extra cost with every Plus and Premium release.

The launch addresses a longstanding gap in the industry. Press release reporting from legacy newswires has leaned on pickup counts, a tally of the publishers that carried a release regardless of whether anyone read it. The number is treated as a headline metric, yet it reveals little about real impact. And as AI answer engines take on a growing share of how people discover and research brands, few newswires report on AI visibility at all.

Customers have noticed. In EZ Newswire's 2025 State of the Newswire survey, 98% of brands and 100% of agencies said they use a newswire, but 78% held a negative view of the return those wires deliver, and 71% were dissatisfied with their provider.

Performance Reports answer the question a pickup count can't: what measurable impact the news had. Every report draws on EZ Newswire's proprietary measurement data and is built to be shared. Because reports are white-labeled, agencies can deliver them to clients without third-party branding, and in-house teams can send them straight to leadership.

"Comms teams have spent years translating pickup counts into something their clients and leadership can actually use," said Neel Shah, founder and CEO of EZ Newswire. "Performance Reports do that translation for them. Every report shows what a release accomplished, including how it shaped the brand's presence in AI answers, in a form anyone can read in minutes."

About EZ Newswire

EZ Newswire is the newswire built for AI performance with a premium distribution network, real-time reporting, and AI citation tracking and insights on a single platform. From startup to scale-up to S&P 500, the most influential agencies and organizations rely on EZ Newswire to shape digital and AI presence. Learn more at eznewswire.com.

Media Contact

Ethan Cantil-Voorhees
hello@eznewswire.com

TOKYO, Japan, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- The City of Yokohama brought its circular economy agenda to New York on Sept. 25, gathering approximately 230 participants, including government leaders, investors, corporations and startups, at the Global Forum on Circular Economy and Urban Resilience during Climate Week NYC. The forum came weeks after the Asian Circular Cities Declaration (ACCD), the network launched in 2025, grew from 26 cities in seven countries to 43 cities in 11 countries, representing more than 82 million people, at the first Asia-Pacific Circular Cities (APCC) Forum in Yokohama.

From Pledge to Plan

Yokohama was involved in proposing and launching the ACCD together with ICLEI Japan, which serves as its secretariat, and was its first signatory. At the APCC Forum on Sept. 4, the network released its first action plan, "ACCD Action 2026," built around three working groups: Good Practices, Solution Matching and Co-creation, and Progress Management. The Good Practices group aims to publish 50 case studies by 2027.

The network grew out of a platform Yokohama has run for more than a decade. The city has hosted the Asia Smart City Conference 14 times since 2012, and the inaugural APCC Forum brought together 52 municipalities and organizations, with more than 1,000 participants. Speaking in New York, Tomomi Yamashita, Director General for Global Initiatives at the City of Yokohama's Policy Administration and International Affairs Bureau, said cities are being asked to move toward a circular economy and need a place to learn from one another. The APCC Forum will now be held every year, she said.

Why New York

Yokohama chose New York, Ms. Yamashita said, because the city brings together businesses, cities and global institutions from around the world, giving Yokohama a way to take its Asian network to a global stage.

Speakers from outside the city reinforced the point from different directions. Jibran Ahmed of the World Economic Forum's Center for Urban Transformation told attendees that the gap between promising circular solutions and widespread adoption in cities is often "a coordination gap rather than a technology gap," and described the city as both a "launch pad" and a "landing pad" for new solutions. Nicole Spina of the New York City Economic Development Corporation described how New York now applies circular construction guidelines across all city capital projects.

Scale was another theme. Durgesh Patel, who leads AI at Hitachi, said the real test is what happens after the pilot: "You might have the best technology and all the capital in the world, but if you can't implement from first project to hundredth project, nothing will scale."

Yokohama says it is ready to help close that gap. The city recovers phosphorus from sewage sludge for fertilizer, upcycles old flooring into furniture, and maps resource flows in its city center. It has also set its own targets: a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by fiscal 2030 from fiscal 2013 levels and net-zero by 2050, and its Mid-term Plan 2026-2029 makes the circular transition a priority through the "Yokohama Circular Link" initiative.

"Yokohama is a global gateway connecting companies and partners with circular economy opportunities across Asia and around the world," Ms. Yamashita said. "It brings together policy leaders, businesses and innovators to turn ideas into action. This role is built on Yokohama's long history of tackling urban challenges and creating practical solutions."

That gateway role extends beyond one forum. At the Business Innovation Forum on the same day, six climate-tech startups presented to potential Japanese partners. Yokohama's Matching Program, which connects startups with Japanese partners, has seen applications grow from 45 in its first cohort to 76 this year and its investor network from about 50 to more than 120, and has led to more than 10 pilot projects. A follow-up event on commercialization is set for Oct. 6 in Palo Alto during San Francisco Tech Week.

Yokohama-connected companies also took part. Chiyoda Corporation, a Yokohama-based engineering company, and Sun Metalon, which uses microwave technology to turn machining scrap into traceable, high-value metal, spoke alongside other corporate and startup leaders. The Bank of Yokohama sponsored the forum, and ShibuLA Ventures, which has a subsidiary in Yokohama, served as a partner. Mauritania's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development also attended and delivered special remarks.

Closing the forum, Satoshi Katahira, Consul General of Japan in New York, said Yokohama "is demonstrating how the city can make real global impact." He added that circular economy and urban resilience help answer economic and strategic challenges, including critical minerals, resource security and resilient supply chains, and invited attendees to Yokohama.

The Invitation: Yokohama Circular Week 2027

For Yokohama, New York is the preview. The main event follows in 2027.

Yokohama Circular Week, scheduled for Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, 2027, at Pacifico Yokohama, will bring several gatherings into one week during GREEN×EXPO 2027, which runs in Yokohama from March to Sept. 2027 and will feature more than 10 million flowers and plants. The week will include the second APCC Forum, the ninth Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-9), co-hosted with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the first held in Japan, and a major international exhibition on the circular economy where about 350 exhibitors and 30,000 participants are expected. The city plans to make the exhibition an annual platform.

The week is open to cities, international organizations and businesses. Ms. Yamashita said Yokohama warmly invites U.S. cities to take part, and companies interested in the initiatives are encouraged to contact the Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to the Americas.

"For Yokohama, 2027 will be a major milestone, bringing together GREEN×EXPO 2027, the APCC Forum and major circular economy events," Ms. Yamashita said. "That momentum can lead to new partnerships, projects and action well beyond 2027."

The next step is a shared library of 50 good-practice case studies for other cities to learn from. To learn more, visit the Yokohama Circular Week 2027, GREEN×EXPO 2027, and Asia-Pacific Circular Cities Forum 2026 pages.

About City of Yokohama

Yokohama is an international port city in Japan with a long record of city-to-city cooperation. It was designated a UN Peace Messenger City in 1987, has shared its urban expertise with cities abroad through technical cooperation since the 1960s, and maintains overseas offices in New York, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Bangkok. The city was involved in launching the Asian Circular Cities Declaration with ICLEI Japan and will host Yokohama Circular Week in 2027. To learn more, visit businessyokohama.com.

Media Contact

Amanda Lauener
amanda@ascendagency.com

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- FISG – InterStellar Group officially marks its strategic collaboration with global football icon Andrés Iniesta with a signing ceremony in Dubai on September 25, 2026.

The ceremony represents a key milestone in FISG's international brand development and its commitment to building long-term partnerships that connect financial expertise, global reach and excellence.

As part of the collaboration, Andrés Iniesta serves as Global Brand Experience Officer, contributing his international experience, professional values and global perspective to FISG's brand vision.

Where Speed, Agility and Experience Meet

This partnership brings together two worlds defined by the ability to master the moment where speed, agility and experience turn opportunity into lasting success.

Iniesta's career is built on reading the game in split seconds, adapting with agility, and delivering when it matters most. FISG – InterStellar Group shares that same mindset: moving with speed in fast-changing markets, acting with agility across global operations, and drawing on decades of experience to deliver for clients worldwide, all underpinned by four-tier regulatory (CySEC, FSCA, ASIC, FSP) oversight, ensuring the highest standards of governance, transparency and client protection across every market it serves.

Together, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to discipline, consistency and the pursuit of excellence.

A Partnership Built on Shared Values

The official signing ceremony takes place in Dubai, bringing together representatives of FISG, Andrés Iniesta, and invited partners and guests.

"This partnership represents more than a collaboration between a global broker and one of the most respected names in international sport. It reflects shared values of discipline, trust, consistency and long-term excellence," said Konstantinos A. Theodorou, CEO of InterStellar Group.

Iniesta added: "I am pleased to be part of this new chapter with FISG. The values behind the partnership — professionalism, discipline, teamwork and a commitment to excellence are values I strongly believe in. I look forward to contributing to the journey ahead."

Looking Ahead

The signing ceremony marks the beginning of a broader international collaboration between FISG and Iniesta, with further initiatives and brand experiences to be announced in the future.

FISG – InterStellar Group continues to strengthen its international presence and develop a global brand built around its philosophy: Decades of Trust · Velocity Worldwide.

Disclaimer

Trading Forex, CFDs, and financial derivative products involves a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. You may sustain a loss of some or all of your invested capital. Before deciding to trade, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. FISG – InterStellar Group operates under regulatory licenses including CySEC, FSCA, ASIC, and FSP. Brand ambassador partnerships, including endorsements by public figures or athletes, do not constitute financial advice, investment recommendations, or guarantees of future performance. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary.

Media Contact

mkt@fisg.com

GREAT BEND, KS, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Great Bend contractor pushing for small-business influence and better damage prevention as the association met in Washington D.C. a few weeks ago.

Craig Amerine is halfway through his year as chairman of the Power & Communication Contractors Association, and he wants the same thing he wanted in March: for small contractors to have a real say in a national trade group.

Amerine took the chairmanship in March 2026 after working up through PCCA's board, where officers advance a step at a time toward the top seat. His term ends in March 2027.

Small contractors have been the focus from the start. Most PCCA members are nowhere near the size of the national firms that dominate underground construction, and Amerine's argument is that the difference shouldn't cost them influence.

"It's an honor to represent small business on a large scale like PCCA," Craig Amerine said. "I want to continue promoting the benefits PCCA provides for small businesses and leave the association stronger than when I started."

Damage prevention and workforce training

PCCA runs leadership training, lobbies on behalf of contractors, and puts member companies in the same room as suppliers and manufacturers. It also works with the Common Ground Alliance on damage prevention and backs apprenticeship programs across the trade.

Damage prevention is the piece Amerine returns to most. There is more underground infrastructure than there used to be, and crews are working around more of it than they were a decade ago. He wants better electronic mapping of what's already buried, and more accountability from the companies that own it. Contractors and infrastructure owners also need to be working the problem together rather than separately.

The rest of the term

The association work runs alongside the day job. Amerine Construction has been putting utilities in the ground out of Great Bend since 1977, and is currently working on fiber-to-the-home projects in Garden City, Kansas and eastern Colorado.

For the back half of his term, Amerine is focused on two things: growing membership and putting the association on firmer financial footing.

PCCA's mid-year conference was held September 16-18 at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C. The association’s next annual conference is scheduled for March 5-10, 2027, at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar in Puerto Rico. 

About Amerine Construction

Amerine Construction is a third-generation, family-owned underground utility contractor based in Great Bend, Kansas. Founded in 1977, the company provides directional drilling, cable plowing and installation, trenching and backhoe work, manhole and underground structures, and energy and utility infrastructure services across Kansas, Colorado and the Central United States. More information is available at amerineconstruction.com.

Media Contact

Joshua Estes
Estes Media
joshua@estesmedia.com

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- NEQSOL Holding announced that the construction phase of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable connecting Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan has been completed. Testing is in progress, with the launch and start of operations planned for October 2026.

The cable is a central component of NEQSOL Holding’s Digital Silk Way initiative, designed to support a new high-capacity digital route connecting Central Asia through Azerbaijan towards Europe and global digital markets. Completion of construction marks a milestone for the project as it moves through testing towards its planned operational launch.

Building the digital dimension of the Middle Corridor

Digital Silk Way is intended to complement the Middle Corridor’s transport infrastructure with digital connectivity. While the corridor’s development has traditionally focused on railways, ports, roads and logistics capacity, digital networks are increasingly important to the economic activity those connections support.

“The most competitive corridors of the future will move not only goods, but also energy, data and capital,” said Kirill Rubinski, Chief Executive Officer of NEQSOL Holding. “The Middle Corridor should not only connect containers. It should connect economies.”

The movement of goods today is closely linked to the movement of data, from logistics and customs systems to financial transactions, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence applications and other digital services. Developing physical and digital connectivity in parallel creates an opportunity to support these activities across the region.

“In many ways, we are building the digital dimension of the Middle Corridor,” Rubinski said. “But the real value is not simply in carrying terabits through Azerbaijan. The value is in building an ecosystem around that connectivity.”

From transit route to regional technology platform

The completion of the cable’s construction phase advances infrastructure intended to support economic opportunities beyond telecommunications and data transit.

High-capacity connectivity can provide a foundation for the development of data centers, cloud infrastructure, AI computing, fintech and other digital industries. Combined with Azerbaijan’s transport and energy infrastructure, this could support the country’s development as a broader regional connectivity and technology hub.

“Azerbaijan already occupies an important geographic position between Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Türkiye and Europe,” Rubinski said. “If transport, energy and digital infrastructure develop together, the opportunity is much larger than transit. Azerbaijan can become an infrastructure and technology platform connecting major regional markets.”

Realizing that potential requires more than the construction of international connections. It also depends on cooperation between governments, infrastructure operators, international investors and technology companies to develop services and economic activity around them.

“Infrastructure creates connectivity. Partnership turns connectivity into economic value,” Rubinski said.

With construction complete and testing underway, the Trans-Caspian cable’s planned October launch represents the next step in bringing Digital Silk Way’s regional connectivity ambitions into operation.

About NEQSOL Holding

NEQSOL Holding is a diversified international group of companies headquartered in Amsterdam, with operations spanning energy, telecommunications, hi-tech, construction materials, and mining. The group operates across 11 countries, serving more than 25 million customers and employing over 20,000 people in Europe, the CIS, the United Kingdom, the United States, Türkiye, and the UAE. For more information, visit neqsolholding.com.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events, including the planned operational launch, testing timelines, and expected regional economic impacts of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable and Digital Silk Way initiative. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections about the industry and region. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including technical delays, regulatory approvals, geopolitical conditions, and market adoption, which could cause actual results or operational timelines to differ materially from those expressed or implied. NEQSOL Holding undertakes no obligation to update these statements in light of new information or future developments.

Media Contact

Elmira Yenikeyeva
NEQSOL Holding
eyenikeyeva@neqsolholding.com

LONDON, United Kingdom, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Car Owl, a UK vehicle history check platform used by motorists researching used cars before purchase, has surpassed one million unique users.

The platform provides car history checks using a vehicle registration or VIN. Its full vehicle history report performs 72 checks and can identify issues including outstanding finance, stolen vehicle markers, insurance write-offs, mileage discrepancies, previous keepers and import or export records. Data sources include the DVLA, MIAFTR, UK Finance and Police National Computer data.

The multi award winning automotive company was created to make the process of buying and selling vehicles easier, safer and more transparent. As part of this, the company has developed a range of tools that allow motorists to research a vehicle’s history before making a purchase.

Car Owl also offers a VIN check, allowing motorists to search using a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to verify key information about the vehicle they are researching.

The VIN check and lookup tool can also be used with legacy VINs containing fewer than the standard 17 characters, allowing users to research some older or classic vehicles and identify their registration number. The tool can be used to research DVLA-registered vehicles including cars, motorcycles, trucks, lorries and tractors.

George Castle, founder of Car Owl, said: “From day one, we’ve focused on creating solutions that combine cutting-edge technology with real-world benefits. Over the years, we’ve grown, evolved, and earned the trust of car buyers and sellers alike.”

What should you look for in a vehicle history check?

Motorists comparing vehicle history check services should consider the range of records checked, the sources of the information, whether a free preliminary check is available and how clearly the results are presented.

A comprehensive car history check can help prospective buyers investigate potential issues including outstanding finance, stolen vehicle records, previous insurance write-offs, mileage discrepancies, MOT history, previous keepers, registration changes and import, export or scrappage records.

Buyers may also want to consider whether a vehicle history check supports both registration and VIN searches, what information is available free of charge, the cost of a full report and whether additional support or guarantees are provided.

What does a full Car Owl vehicle history check include? 

Car Owl's full vehicle history check brings together information from multiple sources in a single report, allowing used vehicle buyers to investigate a vehicle's history before making a purchase.

Car Owl also provides a free vehicle check covering information including MOT history, tax status, export status, recorded mileage changes and basic vehicle specifications. Users can then choose to upgrade to the full vehicle history report, which performs 72 checks, including:

• Finance and outstanding debt: Details of outstanding finance agreements, including Hire Purchase (HP), Personal Contract Purchase (PCP), lease, conditional sale and unit stocking agreements. Where available, information can include the finance provider, agreement number, start and end dates and whether multiple finance records exist.
• Stolen and theft records: Police stolen vehicle markers, the date a vehicle was reported stolen, the police force holding the record and relevant MIAFTR theft claims.
• Write-offs and damage: Insurance write-off records, including Categories A, B, S and N and historical Categories C and D; write-off dates; multiple write-off records; relevant high-risk records; certificates of destruction; and historical Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) information.
• Mileage: Recorded mileage history, potential mileage anomalies, estimated current mileage and average annual mileage. The report can highlight instances where a recorded mileage is lower than an earlier reading, allowing buyers to investigate potential discrepancies further.
• Import, export and scrappage: Import records, including whether a vehicle was used outside the UK before registration where data is available, together with scrappage and export markers and relevant dates.
• MOT, recalls and faults: Current MOT status and expiry date, recorded MOT tests, advisories and failures, outstanding manufacturer recalls and known mechanical faults associated with the make and model. The report can also include estimated repair costs, typical mileage ranges for certain faults and recorded vehicle colour changes.
• Keepers and paperwork: Number of previous keepers, keeper change dates, latest keeper change, V5C logbook issue records, latest V5C issue date and the vehicle's first registration date.
• Identity checks: VIN confirmation, Q-registration markers, registration plate changes and relevant dates. When a vehicle is searched using its VIN, the report can also identify its current registration where available.
• Engine and performance: Engine size, fuel type, transmission, number of gears, power and torque, acceleration, top speed and fuel efficiency.
• Running costs and value: Road tax information, CO2 emissions, insurance group, servicing and repair estimates, fuel costs, estimated ownership costs and vehicle depreciation information.
• Buyer tools and assurance: A vehicle history timeline, interactive test-drive checklist and suggested questions to ask the seller based on findings within the report. Reports are presented in plain English and are supported by priority customer support and a money-back guarantee, subject to Car Owl's applicable terms.

The service is designed for people considering buying a used vehicle who want to investigate its history before committing to a purchase.

Car Owl’s growth to more than one million unique users marks the latest milestone for the company as it continues to develop its platform and expand the tools available to car buyers and sellers.

Castle said: “Our mission is simple: to transform the way people buy and sell cars. At Car Owl, we aim to make every journey, whether it’s buying, selling, or checking, seamless, smart, and stress-free.

“We believe in a future where technology makes car ownership effortless. That’s why our vision is to lead the way in innovation, creating tools that connect people with cars faster, safer, and with complete confidence. Together, we’re driving progress, one solution at a time.”

Car Owl has earned multiple awards since its launch in 2020. Its most recent accolades include being named Best Vehicle History Check Platform 2026 by the UK Transport Awards and Vehicle History Specialist of the Year 2026/27 by the London and South East England Prestige Awards.

The company has also held the title of Car Dealership Platform of the Year at the London and South East England Prestige Awards each year since 2024.

Castle added: “At Car Owl, we're proud to have our innovation and commitment recognised by industry leaders. These prestigious awards celebrate the quality and impact of our platform, inspiring us to continue raising the bar for car ownership solutions.”

The platform offers a free fuel price comparison tool that helps motorists find some of the lowest fuel prices in their area. Using official UK government fuel price data, the tool allows users to enter their postcode or town to find nearby petrol stations and compare their latest reported prices.

Car Owl also operates a vehicle marketplace where private sellers and motor traders can pay to advertise vehicles to prospective buyers.

The platform is designed to protect sellers’ personal contact information, with enquiries between prospective buyers and sellers handled through Car Owl. This allows users to advertise their vehicles without having to publish their personal contact details directly on a public listing.

To find out more about Car Owl and the services it offers, visit Car Owl's official website.

About Car Owl

Car Owl is a UK automotive company providing tools and services designed to make checking, buying and selling vehicles easier. Its full vehicle history report performs 72 checks using information from sources including the DVLA, MIAFTR, UK Finance and Police National Computer data. The company also provides VIN checking and other automotive tools for motorists. Car Owl has more than one million users and has received multiple awards for its vehicle history and automotive services. For more information, visit carowl.co.uk.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Spek is introducing self-learning ASO agents designed to turn app market research into an ongoing strategy for growth on the App Store. Rather than treating keyword selection as a one-time task, the agents examine where an app can realistically compete and use that research to guide its next update. As visibility and rankings change, the process is designed to carry what the app learns into the next decision.

App Store visibility requires repeated choices about which opportunities are worth pursuing, not just an initial set of keywords. Spek’s approach to app store optimization begins with research into a market and its competitive landscape before narrowing the field to opportunities for a particular app. The company says its analysis can cover thousands of keywords in a market, a scale intended to make the eventual choice more selective rather than simply broader.

“Picking a keyword is the easy part. The hard part is knowing why that keyword makes sense for this app, in this market, right now,” said Alptekin Can of Spek. “If the results change, the next decision should change with them. Otherwise, you’re just repeating the same research and hoping for a different outcome.”

Spek’s website says the company helps more than 500 apps grow. Its published description of the agents spans market research and the preparation of app updates, placing the announcement within an offering already presented to app developers. The proposed introduction focuses on what happens across successive decisions: research informs an update strategy, and the app’s subsequent visibility and ranking results provide context for what to examine next. That continuing cycle is the distinction Spek wants to bring to app growth.

The longer-term question for Spek is how much more useful each decision can become when an agent retains the context of earlier research and performance. As app markets shift, the company’s focus is on making those observations part of the next round of App Store growth decisions, rather than leaving developers to restart their research after every update. That gives the introduction a measure beyond the volume of keywords examined: whether each cycle helps an app make a more informed choice about where to compete.

About Spek

Spek is an app growth platform powered by self-learning ASO agents. Combining algorithms with AI, Spek analyzes thousands of keywords, studies competitors, and plans each app’s next move. Its agents continuously monitor performance and adapt their strategy, helping developers grow their apps while spending less time on manual research. For more information, visit spek.app.

Media Contact

Alptekin Can
alptekin@spek.app

HANGZHOU, China, October 2, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (0175.HK) reported sales of 292,168 vehicles in September, its highest monthly volume so far this year and the seventh consecutive month of both year-on-year and month-on-month growth. Sales increased 7% from a year earlier and 8% from August.

New energy vehicle sales of Geely Auto Group reached a record 190,868 units in September, up 16% year on year and accounting for 65% of total sales.

For the first nine months of 2026, Geely Auto Group sold 2,235,481 vehicles, a record for the January-September period. New energy vehicle sales reached 1,326,364 units over the same period, up 14%.

Zeekr delivered 37,216 vehicles in September, an increase of 104% year on year. Lynk & Co recorded sales of 18,493 vehicles, with new energy vehicle sales reaching 17,039 units. The Geely brand sold 236,459 vehicles during the month, and Geely NEV sales reached a new monthly record of 130,479 units.

Geely Auto Group continued to expand its international business. Sales outside of China reached 106,685 vehicles in September, up 162% year on year and exceeding 100,000 units for the fourth consecutive month. New energy vehicle exports rose 403% year on year to 73,664 units, representing 69% of September overseas sales.

For the first nine months of the year, overseas sales reached a record 797,670 vehicles, an increase of 169% from the same period last year. New energy vehicle exports grew 531% to 484,086 units and accounted for 61% of total overseas sales, a significant increase from a year earlier.

Brands and core models of Geely Auto Group continued to strengthen their presence across a number of international markets.

Zeekr began large-scale shipments of the Zeekr 9X to the UAE, while the Zeekr 009 remained the best-selling battery electric MPV in Thailand and Malaysia for multiple months.

Lynk & Co continued to expand in premium segments. In August, the brand ranked first in Ecuador’s premium vehicle market and third among PHEV SUV brands in Tunisia.

The Geely brand recorded sales of more than 4,500 vehicles in Australia in August. Cumulative sales also exceeded 36,000 vehicles in Brazil and 10,000 vehicles in the UK.

About Geely Auto Group

Geely Auto Group is a leading global automotive company headquartered in Hangzhou, China. Part of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Geely Auto Group develops and manufactures passenger vehicles under the Geely, Lynk & Co, and Zeekr brands. With a strong focus on technology innovation, electrification, and sustainable mobility, Geely Auto Group operates world-class R&D centers and manufacturing facilities across China, Europe, and key international markets. The Group is committed to delivering safe, high-quality, and intelligent vehicles enabled by advanced technologies such as hybrid powertrains, full-electric architectures, smart connectivity, and autonomous driving systems. As a global company, Geely Auto Group continues to expand its international presence through strategic partnerships, localized operations, and industry-leading platforms. Geely strives to create mobility solutions that are greener, smarter, and more accessible, driving forward the future of sustainable transportation. For more information, visit global.geely.com.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the future operational plans, market expansion, product launches, and financial growth of Geely Automobile Holdings Limited ("the Company"). These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections about the industry and markets in which the Company operates. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions — including changes in global macroeconomic conditions, trade policies, automotive demand, supply chain disruptions, and competition — that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Media Contact

Janet Chen
media@geely.com

ATHENS, GA, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Beauty Health Index (BHI) launched publicly on September 15, 2026, entering the market with a peer-reviewed framework, a patent-pending measurement method, and a professional network spanning six cities across three continents. 

The company's proposition is narrower than most consumer health launches and, if it holds, considerably more durable. It is not offering a better face-scanning app. It is proposing that facial aesthetic health become a measurable category, with a defined standard behind it, in a market that has operated without one.

The Founder Built the Measure Instead of Another Practice

BHI was founded by Dr. Korina Alevrogianni, a plastic surgery resident based in Athens who trained in France, Brazil and the United States. She is 29.

The choice she made is the commercially interesting one. A surgeon with that training has an obvious route available, which is to build a practice and compete for patients inside the existing market. Alevrogianni went after the instrument the market uses to judge itself instead, which is a slower business to build and a harder one to displace once it is established.

Behind her is a clinical leadership team drawn from plastic surgery and from the aesthetics technology industry, and the distinction matters for a company making a standards claim. A measurement framework proposed by a single practitioner is a proposal. One carried by a clinical bench with commercialisation experience is a candidate for adoption.

The Method Went to Reviewers Before Anything Went on Sale

The sequence is the company's central credibility argument, and it is unusual in consumer health technology.

Alevrogianni published the framework in Cureus, a peer-reviewed medical journal, where it is indexed on PubMed. The paper constructs the index from a structured review of existing research across aesthetic surgery, dermatology, psychophysiology, regenerative biology and lifestyle medicine.

The framework reads a face across five domains: morphologic harmony, skin quality, expression dynamics, regenerative performance and lifestyle influence. Those resolve into forty evidence-based subsystems, weighted so that no single component dominates the composite score. A 60-second smartphone scan produces a single reading, tracked over time against the user's own prior scans.

The company holds patent-pending status on the underlying method. Validation studies are underway.

The paper is explicit that this is a proposed framework rather than a validated clinical instrument, and the company has been consistent in repeating that distinction. In a category where certainty is routinely asserted and rarely evidenced, publishing the methodology openly and naming what remains unproven is a defensible commercial position rather than a hedge.

That order of operations follows from the argument the company is making. Sleep has a standard. Metabolic health has a standard. Aesthetic medicine has trained practitioners making consequential judgments with no instrument to measure the result, and a standard that outside parties cannot examine does not function as a standard. Publication came first because the framework has to survive inspection before it can ask anyone to adopt it.

An Industry Where Nobody, Not Even the Doctor, Can Prove What Worked

The commercial reasoning behind the category claim rests on a structural gap rather than on consumer demand for another app.

Aesthetic medicine and the consumer skincare market operate at significant scale, and neither has a shared measure of outcomes. Dermatologists grade skin using subjective scales. Surgeons assess proportion in isolation. The before-and-after photograph remains the industry's default evidence, and it varies with lighting, camera angle and the condition of the subject on the day.

What that produces is an industry running on faith at scale. Money moves, treatments are performed, and neither the person paying nor the professional performing the procedure can demonstrate what actually changed. Every other market that reached this size eventually built a measure, because at some point the absence of one becomes the constraint on growth. This one has not been built yet.

BHI is positioned to occupy that gap. The strategic parallel the company draws is to establish measurement standards in other sectors, where the entity that defines the measure occupies a different competitive position from the entities that compete within it.

Why Six Clinics Say More Than a Million Downloads

The company launches with a professional network already established across Beverly Hills, New York, Athens, London, Paris, and Sydney.

For a business readership, this is the more informative signal than user numbers at launch. Consumer adoption can be purchased. Clinical adoption cannot, and practitioners who put a measurement framework in front of their own patients are staking their professional judgment on it.

The network also indicates the intended commercial route. A standard adopted by clinics generates institutional demand rather than consumer demand alone, and institutional adoption is considerably harder to displace.

Free Today, Priced Later, Funded After That

BHI is available on a freemium model. A premium tier is planned to follow the completion of a funding round.

The company has not disclosed pricing for the premium tier or the size of the round it is pursuing.

The Real Test Is Whether Other Companies Start Using the Score

The company's stated ambition is category definition rather than market share, and that ambition carries a specific risk profile.

If the framework achieves adoption by clinicians and by other companies operating in the space, BHI occupies the position of the entity that defined the measure. If it does not, the company has built a consumer application in a crowded category with a peer-reviewed paper behind it, which is a stronger position than most competitors hold but a materially smaller one than the ambition implies.

The determining factors over the next twelve months are the outcome of the validation studies, whether the professional network expands beyond its founding six cities, and whether any third party adopts the framework independently. That last measure is the clearest signal of a standard taking hold, and it is the one worth watching.

About Beauty Health Index

Beauty Health Index (BHI) is a facial aesthetic health measurement company founded by Dr. Korina Alevrogianni, a plastic surgery resident trained in France, Brazil, and the United States and a former elite rhythmic gymnast who won more than 30 Greek national titles and two bronze medals at the 2013 World School Championships. The company's framework was published in the peer-reviewed journal Cureus and is indexed on PubMed. BHI maintains a professional network across Beverly Hills, New York, Athens, London, Paris, and Sydney. Learn more at beautyhealthindex.com, or follow Dr. Korina Alevrogianni and Beauty Health Index on Instagram.

Disclaimer

The Beauty Health Index (BHI) framework and smartphone scanning application are intended solely for general aesthetic, wellness, and informational purposes and do not constitute a validated clinical diagnostic instrument or medical advice. The underlying methodology and ongoing validation studies have not been evaluated or cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other health regulatory authorities for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease or medical condition. Individuals and medical practitioners should not rely on BHI scores as a substitute for professional clinical judgment, formal medical diagnosis, or personalized treatment planning.

Media Contact

Ana Gilvani
ana@beautyhealthindex.com

SHANGHAI, China, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- From September 26 to 30, PrimeBOT is exhibiting at the 2026 World Design Cities Conference (WDCC), showcasing its Q1 and T1 personal robots. This marks the first time the "Personal Robot" category enters WDCC through the lens of green design.

For people, unlike people

PrimeBOT is the world's first brand to define the Personal Robot category. Its core design philosophy — "for people, unlike people" — deliberately steps away from the industry's fixation on human-like replication. The humanoid form is never the goal; it is a means to serve people.

Aligned with green design principles. PrimeBOT's design approach resonates with multiple green design directions. Starting from real home-use scenarios, PrimeBOT systematically evaluates exposed materials and surface coatings, conducting targeted testing in compliance with RoHS and related standards — covering odor, substance migration, and contact safety. Coatings balance surface texture, adhesion, and everyday durability, ensuring stable quality throughout long-term companionship. The modular architecture supports shell replacement and functional expansion, while open-source structural components enable 3D-printed customization, reducing material waste. For PrimeBOT, sustainability means growing alongside the user — not one-time consumption.

Q1 and T1 on display

Q1 is an 88 cm, human-centric robot that fits into a backpack, featuring full-body force control. T1 is the world's first transformable personal robot, autonomously switching between bipedal and quadrupedal forms to adapt across indoor and outdoor scenarios. During the exhibition, visitors can experience both products firsthand. On the evening of September 28, Q1 and T1 will engage with guests at the "Design Night" session.

From Milan to Shanghai

From its Gold at the A' Design Award in Milan, to the United Nations AI for Good Summit in Geneva, and now to WDCC's green design exhibition, PrimeBOT is engaging with global audiences through design. When a personal robot enters the home, its value lies not only in what it can do — but in how long it can accompany, and how much it can grow. This is green design's "longevity and circularity" put into practice in consumer robotics.

PALO ALTO, CA, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- As China rapidly develops its artificial intelligence capabilities while changing the regulatory environment surrounding technology, data, and talent, U.S. businesses face a growing need to understand developments beyond individual products and companies.

SINOTALKS LLC, a China-focused think tank and consultancy founded by former Stanford “China Law and Business” professor Dr. Mei Gechlik, is addressing that need through China law and policy analysis that connects technological developments with the regulatory and geopolitical environment in which they are taking place.

The organization’s work focuses on helping businesses and policymakers make sense of developments that can be difficult to evaluate when viewed separately, including China’s AI models, domestic chip development, data infrastructure, technology regulations, and policies affecting scientific and technological talent.

Connecting China’s AI Development to Business Decisions

China’s growing AI capabilities are creating questions for companies that operate in China, compete with Chinese businesses, evaluate Chinese technology, or depend on global technology and talent networks.

SINOTALKS examines the legal and policy developments underlying these changes, giving decision-makers context for assessing how China’s approach to AI could affect international markets and business strategy.

A particular area of focus is the relationship between AI development and data. China is pursuing large-scale systems for collecting, connecting, and using data across sectors while simultaneously strengthening rules governing the protection and movement of data.

For U.S. businesses, these developments raise practical questions about how China’s data environment could affect technology partnerships, market participation, cross-border operations, and competition in AI.

Understanding the Role of Talent and Technology Policy

China’s technology ambitions are also closely connected to its ability to retain and manage scientific and technological talent.

Recent changes to China’s rules governing the movement of people and technology illustrate the increasingly important relationship between national security, technology policy, and talent mobility. These developments can create considerations for both Chinese professionals and foreign talent working in or considering opportunities in China.

SINOTALKS analyzes these regulatory changes in the context of broader technology and business trends, helping companies understand how policy developments can influence the people, information, and expertise needed to compete in advanced industries.

“Businesses cannot fully understand China’s technology development by merely looking at technology,” said Dr. Mei Gechlik, founder and CEO of SINOTALKS. “The laws and policies governing data, talent, technology, and national security are part of the same picture. Understanding those connections can help decision-makers evaluate China-related developments more carefully.”

China’s Homegrown Chips Add Another Dimension

The development of China’s domestic semiconductor capabilities is another area with implications extending well beyond China’s technology sector.

China’s efforts to develop homegrown AI chips are taking place alongside changes to intellectual-property protections and technical requirements for AI-accelerating chips. As Chinese technology companies seek to advance chip capabilities despite restrictions on access to certain advanced manufacturing equipment, the resulting developments could influence how businesses and governments assess China’s position in the international AI ecosystem.

SINOTALKS’ analysis connects these technological developments with China’s regulatory framework and the potential implications for foreign businesses and governments considering Chinese technology.

Building Understanding in a Changing China Market

SINOTALKS was established in 2021 with a focus on demystifying China law, policy, and business for governments, businesses, and professionals. Its approach is to examine complicated China-related developments through their legal and policy context rather than treating individual events as isolated technology stories.

That approach has become increasingly relevant as AI development intersects with trade, regulation, national security, data governance, and talent mobility.

More than 250,000 users from over 180 countries have visited the SINOTALKS website. The organization’s expertise has also supported consulting projects, including Dr. Gechlik’s work as an expert witness in U.S. litigation and arbitration matters.

For U.S. businesses, the objective is not simply to follow China’s technological progress, but to understand the regulatory and policy forces that may shape how that progress affects international commerce.

“China’s AI development is connected to questions about chips, data, talent, and law,” said Dr. Gechlik. “Our role is to help businesses and policymakers see those connections clearly and use reliable information when addressing China-related challenges.”

About SINOTALKS

SINOTALKS LLC is a Palo Alto, California-based think tank and consultancy focused on China law, policy, and business. Founded by Dr. Mei Gechlik, the company helps governments, businesses, and professionals understand complex China-related developments and develop evidence-based strategies through research, analysis, consultation, training, and speaking services. For more information, visit sinotalks.com or follow on LinkedIn. 

Media Contact

contact@sinotalks.com

HANGZHOU, China, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Deep Principle, a global leader in AI for materials, has completed its Series A round, bringing its cumulative funding to over $100 million. 

The company will use the proceeds to advance the AI Scientist platform, scale the in-house AI Materials Factory lab, accelerate the commercialization of key materials pipelines, and deepen collaboration with partners along the industry chain.

"We built strong models, data and our own lab, a closed loop that keeps refining the models, and a business that turns them into real materials for real customers," said Dr. Haojun Jia, CEO of Deep Principle.

Generative AI Models Keep Evolving Toward State of the Art

Deep Principle keeps pushing technical boundaries, releasing multiple models that achieve state-of-the-art (SOTA) results. In property prediction, the company launched the MPA model, which reached SOTA levels on 40 experimental property-prediction tasks. In materials generation, it developed SAGA, a model that can autonomously adapt within complex materials-generation tasks and demonstrates stronger multi-objective optimization than models developed by major global tech companies. In chemical reaction generation, the company released the OA-ReactDiff and React-OT models, opening up the black box of AI-driven predictions and shrinking transition-state generation from days or even months down to 0.4 seconds, making AI genuinely usable in industrial practice. 

Building on this full-stack SOTA model portfolio, the company built its AI scientist platform, Mira, which autonomously handles the design, execution, review, and dynamic optimization of end-to-end research workflows.

The Company's In-House Lab and Its Dry-Wet Closed Loop

Guided by "AI for Science, Science for AI," Deep Principle built AI Materials Factory, an L4 high-throughput lab — a self-driving lab where experiments run with minimal manual intervention — to bridge the "last mile" between AI prediction and experimental validation. Inside the lab, Mira designs experiments, operates equipment, and collects data on its own, forming a complete dry-wet closed loop: AI prediction in the 'dry' lab, high-throughput validation in the 'wet' lab, and results flowing back into knowledge accumulation and model iteration. The company focuses on computing-infrastructure materials, renewable energy, and superconductors, and will keep adding R&D pipelines this year to speed up the commercialization of frontier materials.

Repeat Business From Existing Clients, Expansion Into New Industries

Deep Principle has signed a number of leading clients around the world, including large multinational companies, many of which keep returning with repeat orders. The company's business models include providing platform services, co-developing material pipelines with partners, and developing its own pipelines in-house. It is now building proprietary pipelines in frontier areas such as liquid coolants for data centers. Its business now covers fine chemicals, nutrition and personal care, renewable energy, electronic materials, and other key new-materials sectors. In 2025, the Deep Principle secured orders totaling about US$1.4 million as it began scaling commercial deployments.

"Materials discovery has always relied on human experience and trial and error. AI is changing that. We are moving the field from experience-driven to intelligence-driven, and that shift is happening faster than most people realize," said Dr. Jia.

About Deep Principle

Founded in 2024 by Dr. Haojun Jia and Dr. Chenru Duan, both PhD graduates of MIT, Deep Principle focuses on applying AI to materials research and development. The company's mission is to "unlock breakthrough materials with AI." It combines generative AI with first-principles calculations to build a self-developed technology system spanning the entire materials R&D lifecycle, forming an end-to-end closed loop for materials development. Deep Principle is working to transform conventional experience-driven, trial-and-error-based materials chemistry R&D into an AI-powered precision design paradigm, aiming to compress the R&D cycle for new materials from 5-10 years to months. Its business spans renewable energy, electronic materials, and nutrition and personal care, with strategic positions in frontier areas such as superconductivity and data centers.

Media Contact

info@deepprinciple.com

GENEVA, Switzerland, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- The International Spiritual Council for Transforming Humanity (ISCTH) coordinated public events in over 135 cities across 41 countries on the International Day of Peace, under the campaign theme "The World Moves for #IAmPeace." More than 20,000 people took part worldwide.

The events, held Sept. 20–21, 2026, included peace walks, human chains, and community dialogues. Participants were invited to make a personal commitment summed up in three words: "I Choose Peace."

A campaign built on individual commitment

The campaign is based on the premise that peace begins with individual choices. The aim was to move the conversation about peace from an abstract ideal to something people can act on in daily life, through how they treat others, resolve disagreements and take part in their local communities, building bridges of human connection, and a united resolve towards peace. "The World Moves for #IAmPeace" draws on the teachings of Maitreya Dadashreeji, visionary and inspiration of ISCTH. Dadashreeji's central teaching is that true lasting change in the world begins with transformation in the individual.

"Our first agenda must be global peace. When we realize 'I am peace' and let the collective spiritual strength of humanity unite with a singular purpose, it becomes an unstoppable force for peace, transforming every individual, uplifting every society, and ultimately harmonizing our entire world." — Maitreya Dadashreeji, visionary and inspiration of ISCTH

Three formats, one theme

Events in participating cities followed three main formats:

• Global peace walks: Participants walked together in public spaces as a visible expression of their commitment to peace.
• Global human chains: Participants joined hands to represent the interconnectedness of people across communities and borders.
• Peace dialogues: Facilitated conversations gave participants a space to discuss harmony, coexistence, and ways to build more peaceful communities.

Each city organised its own programme within this shared framework, so events reflected local cultures, languages, and community priorities.

Focus on children and young people

Children and young people were a central audience for the campaign. Through creative activities like a letter to humanity for a peaceful future, reflection, art and dialogue, they were encouraged to consider their own role in building a culture of peace. The message used across these activities was "IAmPeace — Peace Begins with Me."

Participation across five global regions

Events took place in the following 41 countries:

• Europe (21): Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• Asia and the Middle East (10): Armenia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Turkey, U.A.E.
• Africa (4): Kenya, Mauritius, Senegal, South Africa
• The Americas (4): Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United States
• Oceania (2): Australia, New Zealand

About International Spiritual Council for Transforming Humanity (ISCTH)

The International Spiritual Council for Transforming Humanity (ISCTH) is a Geneva-based foundation dedicated to advancing global peace through inner transformation, values-based leadership, and collective action. It combines ancient wisdom with contemporary practice and works across sectors to build ecosystems that support a more harmonious world. For more information, visit iscth.org.

Media Contact

Aarti Mehta
aarti.mehta@iscth.org

WASHINGTON, DC, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- The American Kratom Association today sent a letter to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch urging her to amend her call for a statewide ban on all kratom and instead support legislation specifically prohibiting dangerous synthetic and chemically manipulated opioid products.

The request follows an important clarification from the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit, the agency investigating the recent deaths of two University of Mississippi students.

The unit emphasized that its initial warning about kratom “was not a declaration that kratom or any specific substance caused either death” and that investigators are awaiting autopsy and toxicology findings before determining what substances, if any, contributed to the deaths.

More importantly, Lafayette County investigators are now calling on the Mississippi Legislature to address synthetic kratom-related products, specifically citing the federal government’s Schedule I action against mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI), MGM-15, and MGM-16. Investigators acknowledged that the federal action targeted those manufactured compounds rather than imposing Schedule I control on traditional botanical kratom.

“We strongly support the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit’s call for immediate legislative action against these dangerous synthetic opioid products,” said Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy for the American Kratom Association. “We are asking Attorney General Fitch to refine her recommendation so Mississippi targets the substances that actually present this emerging public-safety threat rather than banning natural kratom leaf.”

Court documents in the Ole Miss investigations have identified SMAX Pseudo-DHM pills, described by investigators as a chemically manipulated product, as the product reportedly purchased by both students before their deaths. The causes of death have not been determined, and investigators continue to await complete toxicology and autopsy findings.

“This investigation demonstrates exactly why precision matters,” Haddow said. “The answer to synthetic opioids being marketed under the kratom name is not to ban the natural botanical. Ban the synthetic opioids. Give law enforcement the authority to remove them from store shelves. Punish those who illegally manufacture and sell them. And responsibly regulate natural kratom.”

The AKA letter urges Attorney General Fitch to align Mississippi policy with the distinctions already made by the FDA, HHS, and the DEA between natural botanical kratom and enhanced, chemically manipulated, or synthetic compounds.

The AKA also pledged its full support for the legislative hearings requested by the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit and offered Mississippi officials scientific expertise, laboratory standards, testing protocols, and model statutory language.

“Attorney General Fitch and the American Kratom Association share the same fundamental objective — protecting Mississippi consumers from dangerous products,” Haddow said. “The emerging evidence gives us an opportunity to work together on legislation that precisely targets the threat.”

“Mississippi should separate the natural botanical from the synthetic opioids,” Haddow added. “Regulate natural kratom products responsibly. Prohibit and aggressively enforce against the chemically manipulated and synthetic opioids.”

Read the full text of the AKA’s letter to Attorney General Fitch.

Watch the video of the AKA’s September 30 press conference in Oxford, Mississippi.

About American Kratom Association (AKA)

The American Kratom Association is a consumer advocacy organization committed to protecting access to safe, natural kratom leaf products and advancing science-based consumer protection standards. AKA supports age restrictions, accurate labeling, contaminant testing, good manufacturing practices, and strong enforcement against adulterated, mislabeled, synthetic, semi-synthetic, concentrated, fortified, or chemically manipulated products falsely marketed as kratom.

Disclaimer

The American Kratom Association (AKA) is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization. This press release is provided for informational and public policy purposes only. Information contained herein reflects the policy analysis of the issuing party regarding federal administrative actions and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Statements made regarding natural kratom have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Readers should consult qualified medical professionals before using any botanical products.

Media Contact

Mac Haddow
Senior Fellow on Public Policy
press@americankratom.org
+1 571-294-5978

NEW YORK, NY, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- IcyBox launched in April with a simple premise: buying a luxury watch should feel as exciting as owning one. Months later, the app has reached hundreds of thousands of downloads on the U.S. Apple App Store, and the company is expanding into handbags, its most significant move to date and the first step toward a much larger ambition: turning IcyBox from a watch app into a destination for discovering, buying, and experiencing luxury goods.

For all the innovation in how people discover products, buying luxury online still largely means scrolling through listings, comparing sellers, worrying about authenticity, and hoping the piece that arrives lives up to what was promised. IcyBox was built on the belief that luxury shopping should feel better than that.

“Watches were always the beginning, not the destination,” said Jian Lu, founder of IcyBox. “They gave us a chance to prove that people wanted a completely different way to shop for luxury. Handbags are where we start showing how much bigger this can become.”

A Different Kind of Transaction

IcyBox is built around a reveal rather than a search. Users open curated collections in the app, each drawing from a pool of authentic timepieces from brands including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Omega, and Cartier. Each collection is organized into six bands, ranging from Grail, where the luxury watches sit, down to Common. The odds for each band are published before a collection is opened, and once an item is revealed, it is shipped straight to the user’s door.

Growth in Months, Not Years

The numbers moved quickly. IcyBox reached hundreds of thousands of downloads on the U.S. Apple App Store within months of its April launch, driven in large part by users sharing their reveals. Clips of big pulls and near misses spread across TikTok and X, and each one brought a new wave of users into the app. It is the same dynamic that turned sneaker drops, trading card breaks, and unboxing videos into entertainment in their own right, now applied to luxury.

“The best marketing we have is someone pulling a watch they have wanted for years and filming their reaction,” Lu said. “Those moments travel. Our job has been to make sure the experience behind them holds up: the odds are displayed transparently before every purchase, and every piece ships on time.”

IcyBox sees this as part of a broader shift. Shopping and entertainment are increasingly intertwined, and people discover products through creators before they ever visit a retailer. Luxury is already part of that world, but the transaction itself has barely changed. IcyBox wants to change that.

Next Up: Android

IcyBox’s growth so far has come entirely through the U.S. Apple App Store. The company is now preparing its release on the Google Play Store, opening the app to Android users for the first time. For a product that grows through shared moments, Android users who have been watching reveals on TikTok and X will be able to open collections themselves, widening the circle of reveals, reactions, and stories worth sharing.

From Watches to Handbags

The move into handbags is IcyBox’s biggest expansion to date. Handbags share the traits that made watches the right place to start: iconic brands, a global collector base, and pieces that can become collectibles in their own right. The category also reaches a far broader cultural audience, giving IcyBox room to grow well beyond its origins as a watch platform.

Every handbag opened on IcyBox creates a reveal, and every reveal creates anticipation, a reaction, and potentially a piece of content worth sharing. Handbags are the first step in a plan to bring that same dynamic to other luxury categories where scarcity, collectibility, and authentication shape the purchase.

“Reaching hundreds of thousands of downloads showed us there was real demand for a new way to shop,” Lu said. “Now the question is how many other categories we can reinvent.”

Built for Discovery, Not Search

Traditional marketplaces are built for intent. A shopper knows the exact bag or watch they want, searches for it, and checks out. The goal is not to become another place to buy a luxury handbag. It is to build a place people open because shopping itself is entertaining.

“Luxury has always been about desire,” Lu said. “We think the next generation of luxury shopping will be about creating that desire in the moment. You should be able to open an app without knowing exactly what you want and leave having discovered something you love.”

IcyBox’s first chapter was written with watches. Handbags are the beginning of what comes next. The company’s bigger bet is that the future of luxury shopping will not be built around searching for products. It will be built around discovering them.

About IcyBox

Operated by InfiniteEdge Inc., IcyBox is a mobile luxury marketplace platform that merges digital discovery with physical commerce. Designed to transform how consumers discover, collect, and experience luxury goods, IcyBox offers interactive digital collection openings featuring high-end accessories with pre-published odds and insured direct shipping. For more information, visit www.icybox.io.

Disclaimer

This press release is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice, nor an endorsement by the distribution service. All featured third-party brand names and trademarks belong to their respective owners, and no official endorsement or affiliation is implied. Odds of receiving specific items across tier bands, availability, and app features are published directly in the IcyBox application and governed by platform terms and conditions. IcyBox is intended for users aged 18 and older.

Media Contact

Myriadhaus Press
PR@myriadhaus.com

NEW YORK, NY, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Lucra, the leading social competition platform, today announced a mini-games partnership with Rabbet, the free-to-play, peer-to-peer sports picks app where players set their own lines and odds, challenge friends, and compete for real cash prizes. Through the integration, Rabbet will embed Lucra's library of skill-based mini-games directly into the Rabbet app, giving its community a new way to compete, win, and stay engaged between games.

Rabbet was built to flip the traditional sports picks model on its head. There's no deposit, no credit card, and no house taking a cut. Instead, players create their own offers on the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college sports, esports, and more, then post them to an open marketplace or challenge friends directly. Winners collect Rabbet Cash, redeemable one-to-one for U.S. dollars. Available today in 39 states, Rabbet has built a platform where the competition is between real people, not against an algorithm.

But sports picks follow the sports calendar, and the hours between kickoffs, tip-offs, and first pitches are where engagement is hardest to hold. Lucra's mini-games close that gap. Each game plays out in roughly 90 seconds, giving Rabbet players a fast, skill-based way to compete any time of day, whether there's a game on or not. Lucra handles all compliance, fraud prevention, and settlement out of the box, allowing Rabbet to extend its competitive experience with minimal technical lift.

"Rabbet has already built an audience of people who love to compete and a peer-to-peer model that puts players in control," said Dylan Robbins, CEO and Founder of Lucra. "What they didn't have was a reason for users to open the app when there isn't a game on. Our mini-games give Rabbet players something to compete in every day of the week, and because the competitive behavior is already there, the value shows up immediately. That's exactly the kind of partner where our mini-games do their best work and we’re excited to build together."

For Rabbet, the integration deepens the core loop that drives its platform. Players who come to set lines and challenge friends now have a second way to compete and a direct reason to return between matchups, turning a schedule-driven product into a daily habit. The mini-games also create new surfaces for Rabbet's sponsored brand offers and promotions, extending the value it can deliver to brand partners.

"We built Rabbet on a simple idea: the competition should be between players, not against the house," said Mark Parise, co-founder and CEO of Rabbet. "Our community already loves setting their own lines and going head-to-head with friends, but sports have off days, and we wanted to give players something to compete in every day. Lucra's mini-games are fast, skill-based, and a natural fit for how our users already play. Now, whether there's a game on or not, Rabbet players have another way to challenge each other, win, and keep coming back.

The partnership extends Lucra's mini-games momentum across sports media and digital platforms. As Rabbet expands into new states, Lucra's games scale with it, and the two companies are working together to develop new competition formats that connect mini-game play with Rabbet's sports picks experience.

Lucra's mini-games will be available in the Rabbet app this October. Download Rabbet on the App Store or Google Play, or learn more at rabbetgaming.com.

About Lucra

Lucra powers competitive loyalty through a plug-and-play SDK, which integrates into apps or websites and enables tournaments, mini-games, and peer-vs-peer competitions, with real-money or rewards. It handles compliance, payments, fraud prevention, and settlement out of the box, so partners can instantly offer gamified experiences without building or managing complex infrastructure themselves. Top entertainment, hospitality, and consumer brands, including Five Iron Golf, Backyard Sports, ChessKings, TouchTunes, and more, use Lucra's white-label technology to power tournaments and challenges, build loyalty, and drive new revenue. Learn more at playlucra.com.

About Rabbet Gaming

Rabbet is the free-to-play, peer-to-peer sports picks app where players set the lines and odds, challenge friends, and compete for real cash prizes. With no deposit required and no house edge, Rabbet lets players create custom offers across professional sports, college sports, and esports, then match with friends or the open marketplace. Winners earn Rabbet Cash, redeemable one-to-one for U.S. dollars. Rabbet is currently available in 39 U.S. states. Learn more at rabbetgaming.com.

Disclaimer

Rabbet Cash and real-money competitions are intended solely for users who meet the minimum age requirements (18+, or 19+/21+ depending on state law) residing in eligible U.S. states where permitted; no purchase is necessary for free-to-play features, and void where prohibited. This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding planned feature releases, geographical expansion, and future developments, which are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially. All third-party trademarks, product names, and company logos referenced herein — including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and mentioned brand partners — belong to their respective owners and do not imply any affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement.

Media Contact

press@playlucra.com

MIAMI, FL, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Smartify Media (“Smartify”), a premium digital out-of-home (DOOH) and retail media network operating across more than 40 U.S. markets, launched a new partnership with The Agency, the global luxury real estate brokerage founded in Beverly Hills. 

Through the partnership, select offices of The Agency will join Smartify’s national digital out-of-home advertising network, transforming brokerage storefronts into connected digital environments where listings, brand content, and synergistic premium brand advertising can be managed dynamically. Smartify has launched in The Agency offices in La Jolla, Malibu, Berkeley, and Healdsburg, CA with more locations coming soon.

“At The Agency, we've built our reputation on representing extraordinary properties and delivering best-in-class marketing to our agents and clients," said Rainy Hake Austin, President of The Agency. "Our partnership with Smartify allows us to bring that standard to life inside our offices, where digital environments showcase our listings and corporate campaigns with the sophistication our brand demands. This partnership reflects our continued investment in the tools and technology that set our agents apart, allowing them to better market their business and connect with clients."

Digital screens deployed at participating The Agency locations will enable agents and teams to update listings and brand content in real time, replacing traditional static signage with dynamic, always-current messaging. The same infrastructure can also create new advertising inventory within premium brokerage environments, providing participating offices with an opportunity to generate synergistic premium media revenue from their physical locations.

For agents, Smartify also extends visibility beyond the brokerage office across the entire Smartify network through Smartify REAL™ — Real Estate. Real World.™, a program that brings real estate marketing into the physical environments where consumers spend their everyday lives. Content marketed on a brokerage screen can also be distributed across Smartify’s broader network, including retail and lifestyle destinations, shopping centers, EV charging displays, kiosks, neighborhood storefronts, and other high-traffic environments — giving agents the ability to extend their presence and reach defined audiences in the real world.

“The Agency has built one of the most distinctive and globally recognized brands in luxury real estate, with a sophisticated digital presence and a footprint in many of America’s most important markets,” said Inna Finkelstein, SVP of Partnerships at Smartify. “Our partnership creates an opportunity to extend that brand beyond the digital experience and the brokerage office, connecting The Agency with consumers across a broader network of premium physical touch points where they live, shop, and move throughout their day.”

Smartify’s digital media platform serves both commercial and residential real estate, creating new opportunities for property owners and operators to enhance their environments, engage audiences, and unlock the media value of their real estate assets. Brokerages leveraging Smartify’s platform include First Team Real Estate, Seven Gables Real Estate, West + Main, The Keyes Company, Compass, and The Corcoran Group. 

About Smartify Media

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Smartify Media Inc. (Smartify) is a premium digital out-of-home and retail media company connecting brands with consumers where they live, work, shop, and transact. Its third-party audited and verified network provides access to premium audiences within brand-safe Smartify MainStreet™, Smartify Marketplaces™, and Smartify Everyday Commerce™ environments through programmatic, direct, and hyperlocal advertising. Smartify’s AI-enabled technology integrates financial and operational data with historical performance insights and real-time signals to scale and standardize operations, enhance advertising precision, and optimize media monetization — increasing audience reach and campaign effectiveness for brands while driving recurring revenue for its partners. Learn more at smartifymedia.com.

About The Agency

The Agency is a global, luxury real estate brokerage representing clients across residential, new development, resort, and vacation rental markets worldwide. Since its founding in 2011 by Mauricio Umansky, The Agency has closed more than $104 billion in real estate transactions and grown to more than 190 offices across 17 countries. Consistently ranked among the top brokerages in the industry, The Agency is recognized as one of the fastest-growing boutique luxury real estate brands in the world. Redefining the traditional brokerage model, The Agency fosters a culture of true collaboration, where every client and listing is represented in a shared environment of partnership. Clients and agents alike benefit from the power of a global network and access to a full suite of in-house services, including creative, public relations, relocation, development, core services, and industry-leading technology.

Media Contact

Debbie Williams
SVP of Marketing, Smartify
debbie@smartifymedia.com

Andrea Delgado
VP of PR and Communications, The Agency
andrea.delgado@theagencyre.com

NEW YORK, NY, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Unhinged, the new protein + caffeine bar built for people who are always on the go, officially launches today with its debut brand campaign, an open casting call for anyone unhinged enough to audition.

The campaign marks the brand's first official work and its launch into the market. The bar is available now on Amazon, on TikTok Shop, and at alwaysunhinged.com.

Casting the Customer

"The Unhinged Casting Call" invites real people to submit the ways life asks them to keep going: a backflip, a job quit on a whim, a HYROX finished before 5pm on a workday. No models, athletes, or influencers required. The prize is the chance to become the face of Unhinged.

The twist: everyone who's unhinged enough to audition gets cast. Shot in a deliberately raw, anti-advertising studio style, the campaign becomes a rolling series called Portraits of the Unhinged, featuring individual films and stills of real, and really Unhinged, brand ambassadors. New content will drop throughout the year, culminating in a launch film that brings the entire roster together for the first time.

The Slash

Running through the campaign is a visual device pulled from the product's packaging: the slash. It's a nod to the brand's ethos of keep going, doing it all, being it all. In the work, the slash strings together the full range of who someone is: a Libra / an aspiring sommelier / works in finance / a skateboarder. It also appears in the submissions themselves: a backflip / a job quit on a whim / a HYROX finished before 5pm on a workday. One small mark holds together everyone's whole, unhinged self.

Unhinged Co-Founder Byron Sorrells said, “This campaign was possible because we set out to build a brand that reflects how our days actually look and feel. We're all spinning a lot of plates, unhinged in our own ways. That's what the slash is. You're a lot of things at once and you don't have to pick one. The Circle brought it to life and we can all see ourselves in the work.”

"The worst thing you could do for a brand literally called 'Unhinged' is go the traditional route," said Jeph Burton, Creative Director and co-founder of The Circle. "So we channeled the energy of a bar that itself had to be two things at once, both protein and caffeine, just to keep up in today's world, and held a casting call for everyone who was also asked to be more than one thing, too."

"The Unhinged Casting Call was stripped all the way back, avoiding layers that felt contrived, to make it about the reality of the cast, the humor in the relatable awkwardness, and treated the product less like product, and more like an accessory to the crime," said Hunter Hampton, Creative Director and Co-Founder of The Circle.

A Challenger Brand Introduces Itself

Instead of casting a spokesperson, Unhinged is casting its actual customer base, and treating the willingness to show up for the whole audition as a statement in its own right. The campaign ladders directly into the launch product: an 11g+ protein, 75mg natural caffeine bar chef-crafted by CIA-trained Chief Product Officer Chef Matt Paine, and into the brand's broader positioning around fueling people going after big things, in whatever form that takes.

Creative Debut for The Circle

The campaign is the creative debut of Jeph Burton and Hunter Hampton as Co-Founders of The Circle, the agency the former Johannes Leonardo executive creative directors launched after a decade behind some of adidas' most awarded work, including collaborations with Oasis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jude Bellingham. The Circle is built around what Burton and Hampton call "cultural gravity," the idea that advertising should draw audiences in rather than interrupt them. With Unhinged, as with the rest of their early work, the goal is a brand with a voice and momentum entirely its own.

For more on the campaign, visit the campaign site.

About Unhinged

Unhinged is a protein + caffeine bar built for people who don't separate their gym life from their grind life. Each bar delivers 11g of protein and 75mg of natural caffeine and was chef-crafted by CIA-trained Chief Product Officer Chef Matt Paine. Unhinged is available on Amazon, TikTok Shop, and at alwaysunhinged.com.

About The Circle

The Circle is an agency focused on lifestyle, fashion, sport, and entertainment, co-founded in 2026 by Jeph Burton and Hunter Hampton, former executive creative directors at Johannes Leonardo. The agency is built around the idea of "cultural gravity."

Media Contact

hello@alwaysunhinged.com

HONG KONG, October 1, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- LumiMind has launched its first consumer neurotechnology product, LumiSleep D1, on Kickstarter in the United States. LumiSleep D1 is now in mass production and marks a new milestone in the company’s effort to translate non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) research into everyday consumer technology. The crowdfunding campaign runs through October 28, 2026, with initial backer shipments scheduled for December 2026.

LumiMind’s engineering draws on research in neural-signal processing, EEG decoding, and non-invasive BCI. LumiSleep D1 applies these principles to real-time EEG sensing and adaptive audio during evening relaxation. While most consumer sleep wearables focus solely on recording and logging historical data for next-day review, LumiSleep D1 explores how real-time neural activity can dynamically shape a device's immediate audio response.

Beyond Tracking: Real-Time EEG in Consumer Wearables

Traditional sleep-tracking wearables center on passive data logging. LumiMind takes a different approach: real-time forehead EEG readings directly inform how the device’s soundscape adjusts while the user winds down for the night.

LumiSleep D1 utilizes soft dry electrodes across the headband to capture EEG signals without requiring conductive gel or single-use parts. On-device processing connects EEG monitoring with real-time sound generation, allowing changes in detected signal activity to modify the audio in real time.

Inside the Technology: Closed-Loop EEG and Sound Modulation

At the center of LumiSleep D1 is Real-Time Neural Coupling Modulation (RTNCM), LumiMind’s closed-loop EEG software architecture. RTNCM processes ongoing EEG signals and generates matching audio locally on the device. As new neural signals are detected, the system adjusts its sound parameters, creating a continuous feedback loop based on the wearer's real-time brainwave activity.

RTNCM monitors changes in ongoing neural activity and alters audio parameters in response to shifting signal patterns during bedtime relaxation.

Its flagship SleepGuide features two sound layers:

• AuthenticBeats: Low-frequency rhythmic audio pulses that dynamically adjust to ongoing brainwave readings
• SubTone: User-selected ambient soundscapes or background music

All output is strictly acoustic. The device contains no electrical, magnetic, or physical stimulation components.

Designed for Nighttime Comfort and Everyday Usability

Engineered for all-night wearability, the headband features a cushioned over-ear structure, a soft band, and flexible dry electrodes tailored for side sleepers. Near-ear air conduction speakers keep audio targeted close to the ears without requiring in-ear buds.

Users can wear the headband during evening relaxation or keep it on overnight. If awakened during the night, pressing the physical button twice activates the ReSleep feature, which restarts the adaptive sound experience according to current EEG activity—without requiring a smartphone screen or app interaction.

Translating Research into Consumer Hardware

LumiSleep D1 made its global showcase at CES 2026, marking an early step in LumiMind’s move from BCI research toward commercial hardware. The product has since entered full mass production.

The launch on Kickstarter represents the next phase, introducing LumiSleep D1 to consumer backers and real-world daily use. LumiMind views the headband as an initial step toward exploring non-invasive BCI applications across consumer electronics.

About LumiMind

LumiMind is a consumer neurotechnology company developing smart devices built on neural-signal decoding research. The company draws on foundational research from the INSIDE Institute for NeuroAI to create adaptive consumer hardware. For more information, visit lumimind.com.

Disclaimer

This press release is provided for general informational and promotional purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell securities or products. The LumiSleep D1 is an everyday consumer wellness and audio device intended solely for personal relaxation, audio entertainment, and sleep hygiene support. It is not a medical device, has not been evaluated or cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or any other health authority, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any medical condition, disease, or sleep disorder. Readers should consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns. References to research institutions do not imply official clinical certification or medical endorsement. Statements regarding crowdfunding timelines, mass production, shipping dates, and hardware capabilities are forward-looking statements involving inherent commercial risks, uncertainties, and potential delays; actual results or delivery schedules may differ materially from those projected.

Media Contact

Monica Zhuang
Global PR Manager, LumiMind
pr_global@lumimind.com

FRIENDSWOOD, TX, September 30, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Bruce F. E. Brownson, the president, founder and chief executive officer of B. Brownson & Associates, L.P., has been honored by Marquis Who’s Who for his expertise in talent acquisition across the energy and chemical sectors. With more than three decades of experience, Mr. Brownson has demonstrated unique leadership and service in his field. Moving forward, his legacy will continue to be informed by his unwavering dedication to quality.

Before B. Brownson & Associates, L.P., Mr. Brownson completed a bachelor’s degree in political science and government at The University of Tulsa in 1971. After briefly considering a career in law, he accepted a position at Korn Ferry as an associate consultant in 1976. He became a senior associate within the year and was appointed managing associate by 1979.

Founding B. Brownson & Associates, L.P.

Mr. Brownson briefly joined Paul Ray & Company as the organization’s vice president in 1981, before accepting a similar position as vice president and director of energy and chemical practice a year later. By 1984, he rose to the position of senior vice president and managing director at the company. By 1990, he joined A.T. Kearney (now Kearney) as senior vice president, managing director, and partner of the company’s energy, chemical, and service industry practice.

In 1992, Mr. Brownson founded his own venture, B. Brownson & Associates L.P., as its president and chief executive officer. He established the firm based on two key principles: first, he and his team commit to every assignment they take on; second, they provide highly responsive and customized service. Mr. Brownson personally answers calls until at least 11 p.m. CT each night.

A Proud Reputation in Talent Acquisition

On the B. Brownson & Associates L.P. company website, it is stated that clients may terminate and receive a full refund of professional fees if they are unhappy within the first 75 days of the relationship. Mr. Brownson is proud to say he has never had to issue such a refund, although he has occasionally turned down work that did not align with his experience.

“I prioritize a 100% completion rate, rely heavily on references, and back up statements with names,” Mr. Brownson shared. “I value that level of service and trust more than the income from any one assignment. I am certain no other firm can claim this, nor would they typically offer refunds if clients are dissatisfied.”

As reflected in Mr. Brownson’s track record, he maintains a consistent belief in delivering the highest quality of personalized service. If one cannot meet these standards, he says, one should not accept the work. More than once, Mr. Brownson claims to have replaced all of the major Big Six firms for failing assignments, something he feels is damaging to the industry’s reputation.

The Future of Brownson & Associates, L.P.

Within the next five to 10 years, Mr. Brownson sees potential in expanding the size of his firm. However, he has no plans to add additional offices due to his belief in maintaining quality and personal oversight over geographic presence. Personally, Mr. Brownson intends to continue completing every engagement successfully and maintaining his firm’s unique reputation for integrity.

About B. Brownson & Associates

B. Brownson & Associates, L. P. is a premier, listed, retained executive search consulting firm engaged in general practice and serving clients globally. Our mission is to exceed clearly specified client expectations and establish long-term, results-oriented partnerships with our clients, forged by exceptional service. The firm was founded in 1992 through the acquisition of the assets of A. T. Kearney's Houston practice, for which Bruce Brownson had been the managing partner.  Since its founding, the firm has been driven by its core values of unparalleled client service and relationship focus. We provide custom-tailored services which are uniquely responsive to client culture, schedules, and needs on a personal and organizational basis.  The practice has been built one client at a time; with total service, focus, integrity and responsiveness necessary to assure completion of every assignment we undertake.  The service commitment and guarantees provided by our firm are unique in the executive search profession because we guarantee our results — in writing — with every assignment. For more information, visit www.brownson.com.

About Marquis Who’s Who

Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website, marquiswhoswho.com.

Media Contact

info@marquiswhoswho.com